Soldier Field activates new cellular network

The next time you're at a Chicago Bears game at Soldier Field, try uploading a "selfie" to Facebook. Or tweet a photo of the shirtless man sitting in your row. Better yet, try to fire up streaming video on any app.

If the technology team at the stadium has met its goal, it will be much faster than it was last month.

Stadium operator SMG activated the venue's new distributed antenna system Oct. 6. It consists of more than 250 strategically placed antennas.

DAS networks, which allow smartphones in a venue to connect to a local antenna instead of relying on the overburdened external network of a wireless carrier, have become a must-have for pro sports venues as fans demand the same connectivity they get from the comfort of watching games at home on TV.

About 75 percent of all major stadiums and arenas in the United States have added DAS networks in the past three years, according to AT&T.

SMG installed a DAS two years ago at Soldier Field in cooperation with the Bears and AT&T to improve cellular coverage during games, but the advent of higher-speed data transfers via LTE coverage — the latest standard in mobile network technology — forced them to rebuild it with a greater capacity.

The latest iteration, which also will be co-operated by wireless network provider Boingo Wireless Inc., offers twice the data volume and voice traffic capacity of the previous DAS.

Neither SMG nor AT&T disclosed the cost of the upgrade. The infrastructure for such systems in football stadiums can cost more than $3 million a year, experts say, though fronting the money for a network and renting it to wireless carriers can be very lucrative, and it's a revenue-generator for Soldier Field.

The league hasn't divulged specifics but reportedly will set standards for minimum capacity levels for data downloads and uploads as well as phone calls and texting.

There's a major upside for the team if the cellular data speed improves. The Bears continue to push the Chicago Bears mobile app, which shows stats and video for fans to review instead of relying only on stadium video boards.

If fans start to use the app more frequently (with a strong wireless experience, of course), that could turn into a new asset for which the team can sell ads and sponsorships.

The DAS' performance also might have an impact on the future of wi-fi at the stadium.

Soldier Field offers wi-fi service to fans during games for $1.99 per day, but SMG is shopping for a potential sponsor for the network that allow a brand to show an ad on a mobile phone before using the Wi-Fi.

If they find one, the stadium could justify offering the service for free, Luca Serra, the stadium's director of sponsorship and media, said in a statement.

In many stadiums, wi-fi is used as a "pressure valve" when its DAS or cellular antennas are overloaded. SMG is working on a "substantial" upgrade to its wi-fi capacity for the 2014 season.

Of course, the new DAS also puts the Bears in a slightly awkward position. While AT&T the network was designed and built by AT&T, Verizon Wireless is one of the Bears' eight "Hall of Fame" corporate partners, earning it some of the most visible branding in the stadium.

SMG negotiates the contracts for the Chicago Park District-owned stadium, which is why it was not automatically a Verizon project.

Verizon pays "rent" to provide its customers coverage through it, however, and the company was involved in making sure the design met its needs.